Gladiator vs Bronco.

[BamaJeepTruck]

Is Ford ever going to start making the things though? It seems like you could just have the best of both worlds. Lease the Gladiator, and when the lease is up reserve a Launch Edition Branco. You'll probably only be without a vehicle for a month or 2.

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[Garemlin]

The only Broncos I have seen are the sport. They. Seem tiny. And I am reminded of a new defender bu they look smaller. IMHO

They are surprisingly roomy on the inside. My daughter has one. Plenty of leg, head and shoulder room front and back. Cargo area is pretty spacious too.

 

[Green_Gladiator]

Cancel my Bronco reservation after I went to the central Florida auto show .. they had a Bronco on display and Mojave ... Gladiator looks better and more capable with the bed.. No regrets!

 

[Garemlin]

I'll admit it. I'm a Ford guy. But I love Jeeps too. I was all about the Bronco since it was first teased several years ago. And was convinced I was going to reserve one. But a few things kept me from doing it.

• First model year jitters
• No colors really speak to me
• Package organization is just a mess
• Delays, delays, delays

Ford did a bunch of things right with the Bronco. A few include.....

• Body mounted mirrors
• Removable panels above the rear seats
• Dash mounted grab handles
• Raised roof edges to prevent interior flooding when the doors are opened in the rain
• IFS
• Ecoboost 2.7 (it's a beast)
• Sasquatch package with 35s from the factory

I know Jeep purists scoff at IFS. But I only do light off roading so it would work for me. I'm personally waiting a few years to see how it all plays out. But I have to admit this will really get my attention if they do one. Minus the rear tire carrier of course.

 

[Casique]

This Bronco thing is a non-issue for me until they make a Bronco truck!

 

[wchevron]

Since I'm picking up my Gladiator this afternoon, I'd say go with the Gladiator. I don't do any serious off-roading, mostly fire roads so I don't think the IFS would be an issue for me. I like the look of the Broncos, haven't seen one in person yet.
I've have 5 Explorers and I have no problem with the Ford Sync. In three years time when I'm trading in the JT, I'd give a Bronco a look. I'm always weary about 1st year models. Like to wait a couple years to get the bugs worked out. Look at the JT alum steering box issue.

Good luck to you with it. I think they are going to sell like hot cakes once they actually come out. I think they definitely upgraded some shortcoming of the Wrangler, ex: body mounted mirrors.

People will always argue why one is better than the other, I say drive what you want.

 

[redrider]

Dad was the #1 monthly salesman at the local Ford dealership for over 30 years. I like Ford trucks and some of their cars. Ford Blue is nice color. A Bronco is not on my like list.

 

[ZTMAN]

Seems like Bronco reservation fulfillments go well into 2022. I owned three of the full size two door Broncos and loved them. Before I decide on the new one, I want to drive one, and I am not going to stand in line to pay MSRP

No reason you cannot get a Gladiator now, and then when the Broncos become available, make a decision. Gladiators hold their value well.

 

[jmdwifi]

I love my Gladiator and will be keeping it. Those Broncos look pretty badass though. I had a 72 Grand Torino sport and wish I still had it. I also had a 98 Explorer and it was a nightmare after 90,000 miles. Hope they improved. Guardian sucks, just thought I would throw that in. It's a neat novelty.

 

[IamAlan]

... Lease the Gladiator, and when the lease is up reserve a Launch Edition Branco. You'll probably only be without a vehicle for a month or 2.

Or six, or nine... After all the launch problems I imagine Ford is dying to get the Bronco to market. Nothing like multiple delays and pressure from management to let critical systems slide for the sake of sales. If I had an interest, I would definitely wait a year or two after they hit the street before I would even consider a purchase.

 

[93civej1]

I seem to be one of the few who does not pitch a tent over the new bronco. Does not interest me in the slightest.

 

[Jeeperjamie]

RTR racing has 3 new Broncos at the shop beside where I work and we have been up there a few times to check them out. They are nice but sitting in the 4 door silver one they got just seems like a cheap wrangler knock off to me. I couldn't even compare it to my gladiator because I just feel like the Gladiator with the bed is just better. I may would consider a 2 door Bronco but still not sold on them. Vaughn Gittin loves them but he's a Ford guy and sponsored by ford so I would expect him to talk them up. Seeing one in person I wasn't impressed, they just seem small to me and I'm not talking about a sport model either.

 

[Happycoop]

Something you didn't mention is packages. I ended up cancelling my Bronco reservation (I was among the first 1500 to reserve one) due to: lack of manual transmission with something other than a 4 cyl; weird packaging requirements; constant delays from Ford (yes, I know we had a pandemic, but the promises and letdowns were nonstop over the last two or so years that I was on the Bronco forum).

To the points you mentioned...

1) the 12" display is big. and responsive.
- No real comment here as I'm not an audio guy (would have been happy with the base stereo in the Gladiator but my Mojave came with the 7")
2) the interior is relatively narrow compared to the cars we own now. Not bad. But you can definitely feel that its built off a compact/midsized truck and not a full sized truck.
- True, and the Gladiator's interior is what I would consider compact as well
3) the Badlands on 33s looked very nice. It's proportions are very good.
- It looks ok, but 35s are where the Bronco really looks nice (much in the same way, I don't really care for the stock Gladiator look)
4) I want to know how much the wheel/tire on a Sas weighs? It would not want to change a flat. Though with those tires, id imagine your chances eof getting a flat is pretty slim.
- You can get a flat regardless of tire size, trust me, I've had em on 35's, 37's 40's and 44's. They're heavy but they're also manageable
5) My concern with the Bronco was fitting my dog's crate in the back, lengthwise. The cargo area measures ~32" from a closed rear door to the hump at the front of the cargo area. MY dog crate will fit.
- I had similar concerns, though perhaps our crate is larger (we put both pups in one when traveling)...I checked out the Bronco and decided with the crate back there we wouldn't have enough room for other luggage/stroller/etc.
6) The MGV was not as nice as I was expecting. It has a brushed almost metallic look to it. I thought it was going to have more of a leather type texture to it. Not a big deal. I'll probably replace with Katzkins saddle leather interior shortly after I buy it.
- It sounds like maybe you're not into off-roading, which is fine, but if so, why get the more expensive Bronco trim level instead of a base one (unless you intend to use lockers, etc.)?
7) the plastic floor is very nice and is going to be super practical. We have Weather Tech matts in all our current vehicles, so we effectively have a plastic floor now.
- The one area Ford goofed on with this is that the seatbacks are still carpet, so damp/mold is still an issue
8) the Lux sound system sounded "good enough".
- See comment #1 above
9) We will probably use ours with the top up and the doors and side windows off in the summer. (safari mode, the jeep guys call it). The side windows and rear window of the soft top come off very easily.
- The tops seem to work ok; my big complaint with the Bronco soft top is the velcro (that just never lasts well for me on a daily used rig, especially with off-road adventures thrown into the mix
10) The anti-matter blue was GORGEOUS.
-Agreed, though it'll be interesting to see the green they release for the 2022's

I'm looking forward to driving it within the month. I'm expecting it to drive better than a Jeep on the road. I drove a couple of jeeps recently and have decided that I may not want to live with the poor on-road manners of the jeep as an everyday driver.
- Driving a Jeep (to me), is about the experience. My Jeeps rarely drive as well as any of my other vehicles, and yet I've owned literally dozens of solid axle Jeeps over the years. There's just something about rowing your own gears and feeling connected to the environment around you that keeps me driving them.

Best of luck in your decision.

 

[Happycoop]

Lease the Gladiator, and when the lease is up reserve a Launch Edition Branco.

That would never work...the launch editions were sold out within hours of the reservation system going online last July. Ford even doubled the number of launch editions, but they were snatched up in a heartbeat.

 

[Mojave Gladiator]

I would consider the older Bronco's to be one of my favorite Ford models; however, the soon to be released Bronco is a Wrangler knock-off with IFS! The only thing that truly outshine the Wrangler/Gladiator is the Bronco's powerplant (when comparing it to the 3.6 Pentastar). If I were worried about blazing speeds, I would have opted for the 392 and called it a day!

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